U.S. patent application number 11/538257 was filed with the patent office on 2008-04-03 for print media and methods for making the same.
Invention is credited to Betty Coulman, Matthew D. Giere, Douglas E. Knight, Bor-Jiunn Niu.
Application Number | 20080081203 11/538257 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39079638 |
Filed Date | 2008-04-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080081203 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Knight; Douglas E. ; et
al. |
April 3, 2008 |
Print Media and Methods For Making the Same
Abstract
The present invention is directed to a medium ("substrate")
usable with inkjet printing apparatus (either or both piezoelectric
and thermal inkjet, or other forms of inkjet printing), and methods
for forming and using the same. In one embodiment, the substrate
comprises a base material component and an image enhancing layer
including a metallic salt disposed either or both on at least one
side of the base medium and mixed within the base medium thereon.
The present invention is further directed to printable articles
including the same.
Inventors: |
Knight; Douglas E.; (San
Diego, CA) ; Giere; Matthew D.; (San Diego, CA)
; Niu; Bor-Jiunn; (San Diego, CA) ; Coulman;
Betty; (Corvallis, OR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY;Intellectual Property Administration
P.O. Box 272400
Fort Collins
CO
80527-2400
US
|
Family ID: |
39079638 |
Appl. No.: |
11/538257 |
Filed: |
October 3, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
428/480 ;
428/522; 428/688 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y10T 428/23 20150115;
Y10T 428/2481 20150115; Y10T 428/28 20150115; B41M 2205/38
20130101; B41M 5/506 20130101; Y10T 428/31786 20150401; B41M 5/508
20130101; Y10T 428/31935 20150401; Y10T 442/20 20150401; B41M
5/5218 20130101; B41M 5/5281 20130101; B41M 5/5272 20130101; Y10T
428/24802 20150115; B41M 5/52 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
428/480 ;
428/688; 428/522 |
International
Class: |
B32B 27/06 20060101
B32B027/06; B32B 9/00 20060101 B32B009/00 |
Claims
1. A printable article, comprising: a substrate having a base
material component and an image enhancing layer including a
metallic salt disposed thereon.
2. The printable article of claim 1, wherein the base material is
selected from the group consisting of a fibrous material, and a
plastic material.
3. The printable article of claim 2, wherein the fibrous base
material includes cotton, rice paper, canvas, fiberglass, or
combinations thereof.
4. The printable article of claim 2, wherein the fibrous base
material is a woven material.
5. The printable article of claim 2, wherein the plastic material
includes extruded vinyl (PVC) film or polyester film.
6. The printable article of claim 3, wherein the base material is
disposed adjacent to a second fiberglass material.
7. The printable article of claim 1, wherein the substrate includes
an inkjet receiving layer having a porosity of less than about 0.4
milliliters per gram of inkjet receiving layer disposed between the
base material and the image enhancing layer.
8. The printable article of claim 1, wherein the base material is
formed from a woven material.
9. The printable article of claim 8, wherein the woven material is
formed from a canvas material.
10. The printable article of claim 1, wherein the base material has
an adhesive layer disposed thereon on a surface away from the image
enhancing layer.
11. The printable article of claim 4, wherein the image enhancing
layer is disposed within, at least a portion of, the woven-fibrous
component of the base material.
12. The printable article of claim 3, wherein the substrate is
printed thereon and a resin encapsulates the printed substrate.
13. The printable article of claim 3, wherein the substrate is
printed thereon and a resin impregnates the printed substrate.
14. The printable article of claim 1, wherein the image enhancing
layer is printed thereon forming a printed substrate and a
fiberglass material is disposed on the printed substrate.
15. The printable article of claim 14, wherein a resin material
encapsulates the printed substrate.
16. The printable article of claim 14, wherein a resin material
impregnates the printed substrate.
17. The printable article of claim 1 wherein the substrate is
printed thereon forming a printed substrate and a resin impregnates
the printed substrate.
18. The printable article of claim 1, wherein the image enhancing
layer is printed thereon forming a printed substrate and a
fiberglass material is disposed on the printed substrate.
19. The printable article of claim 2, wherein the substrate
includes an inkjet receiving layer having a porosity of less than
about 0.4 milliliters per gram of inkjet receiving layer disposed
between the base material and the image enhancing layer.
20. The printable article of claim 13, wherein the resin is formed
from the group consisting of polyurethanes, polyesters, epoxies,
and combinations thereof.
21. The printable article of claim 1, wherein the image enhancing
layer includes a metallic salt selected from the group consisting
of monovalent metallic salts, polyvalent metallic salts; and
combinations thereof.
22. The printable article of claim 21, wherein the polyvalent
metallic salt is selected from the group consisting of Group II
metals, Group III metals, and combinations thereof.
23. The printable article of claim 21, wherein the metallic salt is
selected from the group consisting of sodium chloride, aluminum
chloride, calcium chloride, calcium nitrate, magnesium chloride,
and combinations thereof.
24. The printable article of claim 3, wherein the base material is
disposed on a foam core.
25. The printable article of claim 3, wherein a resin is disposed
on the image enhancing layer.
26. The printable article of claim 25 wherein the resin is formed
from the group consisting of polyurethanes, polyesters, epoxies,
and combinations thereof.
27. The printable article of claim 1, wherein the metallic salt is
present in an amount ranging from about 0.1 to about 5.0 grams per
square meter (g/m.sup.2 or GSM) of the printable substrate.
28. The printable article of claim 1, wherein the metallic salt is
CaCl.sub.2.
29. The printable article, comprising: a substrate having a base
material component and an image enhancing layer including a
metallic salt disposed thereon, wherein the substrate is printed
thereon and is further impregnated or encapsulated with a resin
material, and optionally having a support member disposed adjacent
an outer surface of the substrate thereof.
30. The printable article of claim 29, wherein the base material is
selected from the group consisting of a fibrous material, and a
plastic material.
31. The printable article of claim 29, wherein the fibrous base
material includes cotton, rice paper, canvas, fiberglass, or
combinations thereof.
32. The printed article of claim 29, wherein the support member is
selected from the group consisting of plywood, plastic, metal, and
foam.
33. A printed article, comprising: a substrate having a print
thereon and including a base material component and an image
enhancing layer having a metallic salt and disposed on the base
material, the substrate being further impregnated or encapsulated
with a resin material; and optionally having a support member
disposed adjacent an outer surface of the substrate thereof.
34. The printed article of claim 33, wherein the base material is
selected from the group consisting of a fibrous material, and a
plastic material.
35. The printed article of claim 33, wherein the fibrous base
material includes cotton, rice paper, canvas, fiberglass, or
combinations thereof.
36. The printed article of claim 33, wherein the support member is
selected from the group consisting of plywood, plastic, metal, and
foam.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to printing media and methods for
making and using the same, and in particular, to print media for
use in inkjet printing.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0002] This application is related to published patent application
No. 20050217815A1, entitled "Print Media and Methods of Making
Print Media" filed on Apr. 2, 2004, and assigned the same assignee
as that of the present invention, the content of which is
incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The use of digital image-forming apparatus such as, thermal
inkjet printers, piezo-electric printers, desktop printers, large
format printers, and laser printers, has grown in recent years. The
growth may be attributed to substantial improvements in print
resolution and overall print quality coupled with appreciable
reduction in cost, and ease of use. Today's image-forming apparatus
offer acceptable print quality for many commercial business and
household applications at costs lower than those offered in the
past.
[0004] Media products (e.g., paper and fabric such as canvas) for
receiving printed images are used in conjunction with these
image-forming apparatus. For example, known imaging and printing
media often include a base paper, coated with a single or
multi-layer functional coating, such as ink receiving layer, curl
balancing layer, and optionally image protection layer. In the case
of paper, the base paper can be either uncoated raw base paper,
coated base paper, or resin coated photo base paper. As can be
appreciated the various and multitude of steps have to be balanced
with the need for high quality imaging at an economically
competitive and attractive cost.
[0005] Thus, there is a keen demand for media, that meet high
quality standards with respect to brightness, opacity, and dry
and/or wet strength, as well as providing water-resistant and vivid
printed images, as printed with any of a wide range of
colorants.
SUMMARY
[0006] The present invention is directed to printable articles
comprising a medium ("substrate") usable with inkjet printing
apparatus (either or both piezoelectric and thermal inkjet, or
other forms of inkjet printing), and methods for forming and using
the same. In one embodiment, the substrate comprises a base
material component and an image enhancing layer including a
metallic salt disposed either or both on at least one side of the
base medium and mixed within the base medium thereon. The present
invention is further directed to printable articles including the
same.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIGS. 1a and 1b illustrate representative embodiments of a
substrate embodying features of the present invention.
[0008] FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a print medium embodying
features of the present invention.
[0009] FIGS. 3a and 3b illustrate an embodiment of a print medium
embodying features of the present invention.
[0010] FIG. 4 illustrates a representative process for making a
substrate embodying features of the present invention.
[0011] FIG. 5 is a pictorial representation of the image quality of
a substrate not including an image enhancing layer according to the
present invention.
[0012] FIG. 6 is a pictorial representation of the image quality of
a printed substrate embodying features of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
[0013] The present invention is directed to printable articles
comprising a medium ("substrate") usable in inkjet printing
apparatus (either or both piezoelectric and thermal inkjet, or
other forms of inkjet printing). In one embodiment, the substrate
comprises a base medium and an image enhancing material which is
present either or both as a layer disposed adjacent to the base
medium and within the material from which the base medium is
formed. According to an embodiment, the base medium is, but not
limited to, porous media including cotton bond, canvas, rice paper;
and fiberglass. In an embodiment, the substrate is formed from
woven material formed from fibrous materials, such as cellulose or
glass containing fibers, examples of which include canvas material
and fiberglass. As used herein, woven refers to a medium formed, at
least in part, from interlaced strands or fibers.
[0014] According to an embodiment, the substrate includes a backing
layer disposed adjacent the base medium and opposite the at least
one image enhancing layer (or the printing side). In an embodiment,
the backing layer is further layered with a release liner, such as
a silicone coated release liner.
[0015] In an embodiment, the substrate is a "printed substrate"
that is at least partially covered with an image formed by way of
for example inkjet ink. The present invention is further directed
to methods of manufacture of the substrate, as well as "inkjet
printing systems," including either or both printer and "inkjet
pens," for use with, or with which, such substrate is usable. The
substrates of the present invention provide for enhanced print
performance including image quality and durability (e.g.,
water-fastness).
[0016] The substrate may be used to print images (i.e., creating
"printed substrate") thereon using commercially available inkjet
printers from a number of manufacturers. The inkjet printers
include, by way of example, piezo and thermal inkjet printers, both
desk top and large format. Examples include Deskjet.RTM., Business
Inkjet, Photosmart.RTM. Inkjet, and Designjet.RTM. printers, all
manufactured by Hewlett-Packard Company of Delaware.
[0017] As used in this specification and in the appended claims,
the following terms have the following meanings:
[0018] Any of the terms "substrate," "print substrate," "print
media," "print medium," and base material is meant to encompass a
substrate based on cellulosic fibers (e.g., canvas), synthetic
fibers (e.g., polyamides, polyesters, polyethylene, and polyacrylic
fibers), inorganic fibers (e.g., asbestos, ceramic, and glass
fibers such as fiberglass), extruded plastics (e.g. vinyl,
polyester and polyvinylchloride (PVC)), and any combination of
thereof. The substrate may be of any dimension (e.g., size or
thickness) or form (e.g., pulp, wet paper, dry paper, etc.). The
substrate is preferably in the form of a flat sheet, or roll
structure, which structure may be of variable dimensions (e.g.,
size and thickness). The term "sheet" or "flat structure" is not
meant to be limiting as to dimension, roughness, or configuration
of the substrate, but rather is meant to refer to a product
suitable for printing. The term `layer` as used herein includes
either or both one or more thicknesses, courses, or folds laid or
lying over or under another ("Composite Structure"); and a material
impregnating another.
[0019] As used herein, "image quality" refers to the fullness,
intensity, clarity, and overall image characteristics of an inkjet
ink after application to the print medium (thus forming the printed
substrate). These visual effects are generally a measure of the
concentration of ink at a given point on the printed substrate, the
presence or absence of unwanted bleeding of one color into
another.
[0020] The terms "waterfast" and "dripfast" are used herein to
describe a form of water resistance which is normally used to refer
to the nature of the ink composition after drying on the substrate.
In general, waterfast and dripfast mean that the dried composition
is substantially insoluble in water, such that upon contact with
water, the dried ink retains at least about 70%, preferably at
least about 85%, and more preferably at least about 95%, of optical
density. In particular, waterfast generally refers to the
waterfastness characteristics of the printed medium after full
immersion of the medium in water, while dripfast refers to its
performance after droplets of water have been applied, in a drip
fashion, onto the media.
[0021] As used herein, "porosity" refers to the amount of ink that
the coating can absorb during the printing process. In general,
inkjet receiving layers consist of swellable or porous coating
technologies. Porosity has a particular effect on image quality
when porous coating technology is applied into the inkjet receiving
layer. For example, a high porosity coating can create good image
quality in canvas media, however, the cracking of high porosity
coatings is problematic when stretching the printed canvas around a
frame. On the other hand, a low porosity coating improves cracking,
but yields poor image quality due to the bleed that occurs during
printing. In the present invention, a metallic salt is applied on
the surface of the inkjet receiving layer with low porosity
coating, yielding excellent image quality while maintaining good
cracking performance. Porosity may be measured using a pore size
analyzer from Autosorb-1 made by Quantachrome, Boynton Beach, Fla.
(USA).
[0022] As used herein, the term "printable article" refers to
article comprising the substrate or a product comprising the
substrate (as for example described below as a surfboard
product).
[0023] In an embodiment, the image enhancing material includes at
least one cationic compound including but not limited to metallic
salts such as inorganic cationic species and/or salts thereof.
[0024] Suitable examples of metallic salts (e.g., reference element
18 in FIG. 1) include mono- or multi-valent metallic salts. The
metallic salts are soluble in water. The metallic salt can include
cations such as, but not limited to, Group I metals, Group II
metals, Group III metals, or the transition metals. In particular,
the metallic cation can include, but is not limited to, sodium,
calcium, copper, nickel, magnesium, zinc, barium, iron, aluminum
and chromium ions. In an embodiment, the metallic cation includes
calcium, magnesium, and aluminum. The anion species can include,
but is not limited to, chloride, iodide, bromide, nitrate, sulfate,
sulfite, phosphate, chlorate, acetate ions, and combinations
thereof.
[0025] Exemplary embodiments of the metallic salt includes, but is
not limited to, sodium chloride, aluminum chloride, aluminum
bromide, aluminum sulfate, aluminum nitrate, aluminum acetate,
barium chloride, barium bromide, barium iodide, barium nitrate,
calcium chloride, calcium bromide, calcium iodide, calcium nitrate,
calcium acetate, copper chloride, copper bromide, copper sulfate,
copper nitrate, copper acetate, iron chloride, iron bromide, iron
iodide, iron sulfate, iron nitrate, magnesium chloride, magnesium
bromide, magnesium iodide, magnesium sulfate, magnesium nitrate,
magnesium acetate, nickel chloride, nickel bromide, nickel sulfate,
nickel nitrate, nickel acetate, zinc chloride, zinc bromide, zinc
sulfate, zinc nitrate, zinc acetate; or combinations thereof. In an
embodiment, the metallic salt includes sodium chloride, aluminum
chloride, calcium chloride, calcium nitrate, magnesium chloride; or
combinations thereof.
[0026] The image enhancing material is present in an amount
yielding a coating weight of about 0.01 to about 10 g/m.sup.2,
often from about 0.1 to about 5 mg/m.sup.2, and usually from about
1 to about 5 g/m.sup.2.
[0027] The treatment of the base medium may result in the presence
of the image enhancing material either or both as an image
enhancing layer disposed adjacent the base medium and within the
porous or fibrous material of the base medium when a porous
material is used (e.g., cotton, canvas, fiberglass).
[0028] In an embodiment, a base medium with an image enhancing
layer is printed and then further coated with a resin or lacquer,
atop the image enhancing layer. In an embodiment, the resin coating
is selected to be compatible with the base medium and other
components of the substrate, such that upon its disposing, may
include subsequent curing thereof, such that it encapsulates the
printed article and is, at least substantially, transparent.
Examples of suitable resins include polyurethanes, polyesters,
epoxies, and combinations thereof. Examples of typical base medium
include fiberglass, rice paper, cloth, canvas, or cotton bond
paper.
[0029] The substrate may include other components such as, but not
limited to, binders, starch, optical brighteners, inorganic or
organic filler, sizing agents, anionic reagents, and combinations
thereof.
[0030] Now referring to FIGS. 1a and 1b, cross-sectional views of
representative media 10 and 10' having been treated with an image
enhancing material and embodying features of the invention are
shown. The medium 10 may include, but is not limited to, a base
medium 12, which as shown includes a fibrous component 14 (or 12'
in FIG. 1b which does not include the fibrous component), an image
enhancing layer 16 and/or 16' either of which includes a metallic
salt 18. It should be appreciated that although a fibrous
containing base material is shown, the base medium may be formed
from non-fibrous material such as vinyl or a non-porous inkjet
receiving layer as those traditionally employed in inkjet media, as
for example shown in FIG. 1b. As mentioned above, the image
enhancing material may be present as a layer 16' disposed adjacent
at least one surface of the base medium 12 as an image enhancing
layer 16', and/or disposed within and among the fibrous component
14. Further, the base medium 12 may include additional components
such as, but not limited to, binders, fillers, and the like (not
shown for clarity). It should be appreciated that although the
present invention enables enhanced image quality on substrate which
may not have been treated with other image enhancing layers, such
as ink-jet receiving layers traditionally employed, the present
invention may also effectively be used with such treated medium, as
shown in FIG. 1b. Medium 10' is similar to media 10 as shown in
FIG. 1a, and further including an inkjet receiving layer 15
disposed between the image enhancing layer 16' and the base medium
12. The inkjet receiving layer 15 may be formed from inkjet
receiving material as those traditionally employed in inkjet
media.
[0031] In an embodiment, features of which are shown in FIG. 2, a
back-coating 22, and a release liner 24 are disposed adjacent the
base medium 12 which faces away from the image enhancing layer 16'
(or in the case of image enhancing medium 16, facing away from the
printing side of the print medium. In an embodiment, preferably the
coating 22 is a resin soluble adhesive layer. The solubility of the
adhesive in the resin is desirable so as not to inhibit bonding of
the total composite to the base paper. The liner layer 24, is
preferably a silicone coated release layer. In an embodiment, the
addition of adhesive and the liner provide improvements in the
application process (e.g., substrate may be fixed prior to
downstream process steps) while also increasing stiffness of the
substrate to allow for high reliability in digital printers.
[0032] Now referring to FIGS. 3a and 3b, exemplary
fiberglass-containing medium such as surfboard 50 and 50' and
embodying features of the invention are shown. The surfboard 50
includes a resin coating 52 as the top layer; a fiberglass layer 54
disposed underneath the resin layer 52; a printed substrate 10"
with graphics, images, and/or text thereon and which is formed from
substrate 10''' embodying features of the present invention; and a
foam core 56. By way of illustration, the substrate 10''' is
printed thereon using printing technology such as laser-jet or
ink-jet. As indicated above, the substrate 10 may include a
resin-soluble back coating 22 and/or the release liner 24 (as for
example shown in FIG. 2). The substrate 10''' is thereafter applied
onto the foam core 56 followed by applying the resin coating 52
thereon. Now referring to FIG. 3b, in an embodiment, the fiberglass
layer 54 is first disposed on the foam core 56, followed by
disposing a printed substrate 10' (or non-printed to be printed
thereon after being disposed), followed by applying the resin layer
52.
[0033] Now referring to FIG. 4, an exemplary process 100 for making
the substrate 10 of the present invention embodying features of the
present invention is illustrated. The process as shown includes
immersing a roll 110 of the base material 12 in a tank 115
containing image enhancing material such as cationic species 120.
The process 100 results in the formation of primarily an image
enhancing layer 16' and/or 16.
EXAMPLES
[0034] In an effort to further assess the improvements obtained as
a result of the practice of features of the present invention,
different examples were prepared.
Example 1
[0035] In one series of examples, different types of base medium
were treated with the image enhancing material 18, such as
CaCl.sub.2. In one example, a 0.1% by weight of CaCl.sub.2 aqueous
solution was spray coated on the base media to yield a coating
weight of about 0.1 to about 0.5 g/m.sup.2.
[0036] The samples were evaluated for general image quality, "IQ,"
by visually evaluating the samples for attributes such as color
density and unwanted bleed as well as measured quantitatively for
bleed performance. The results are represented in TABLE I
below:
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE I Bleed (the distance the darker color bled
into lighter color as measured in mm & IQ Score) Base medium
Treated sample Control fiberglass Bleed 0 mm 0.49 mm IQ
score*.sup.1 8 3 canvas Bleed 0 mm 2.1 mm IQ score 9 1 rice paper
Bleed 0 mm 0.37 mm IQ score 8 1 *.sup.1IQ score: it is a visual
evaluation for the total image performance quality of the sample,
ranging from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best.
Example 2
[0037] In another series of experiments, a treated fiberglass-based
surfboard was prepared to yield the embodiment described in
reference to FIG. 3a. First, fiberglass samples were treated with a
layer of CaCl.sub.2. Samples of the treated fiberglass such as 10'
were then printed and disposed on the core medium 56 (here a foam
core as used in a fiberglass-based surfboard material). A control
sample 10A was also prepared without the CaCl.sub.2 layer. The
samples were evaluated visually for unwanted bleeding 130 of one
color into another; the results of which are shown pictorially in
FIGS. 5 and 6, respectively for 10A and 10B. As can be noted, the
treated sample, 10B, shown in FIG. 6 shows little or no unwanted
bleed. After printing, the treated fiberglass was placed on a
standard surfboard foam support and then impregnated with a
polyester based resin. Several other supports such as plywood,
plastic, and metal can be used to create a wide range of highly
durable printed articles.
[0038] While particular forms of the invention have been
illustrated and described herein, it will be apparent that various
modifications and improvements can be made to the invention.
Moreover, individual features of embodiments of the invention may
be shown in some drawings and not in others, but those skilled in
the art will recognize that individual features of one embodiment
of the invention can be combined with any or all the features of
another embodiment. Accordingly, it is not intended that the
invention be limited to the specific embodiments illustrated. It is
intended that this invention to be defined by the scope of the
appended claims as broadly as the prior art will permit.
* * * * *